Welcome back to The Rundown, our daily breakdown on comic news stories we missed from the previous day. Have a link to share? Email our team at rundown@multiversitycomics.com.
– Synthwave band The Midnight have inspired an official graphic novel, “The Midnight: Shadows,” due out from Dark Horse Comics on October 2. Written by Zack Kaplan with art by Stephen Thompson and Jahnoy Lindsay, colors by Thiago Rocha, and lettering by DC Hopkins, the book follows Jason, a young man who retreats into his beloved childhood game The Midnight so he can escape the pressures of adulthood. “As the story unfolds, Jason will have to choose between his carefree digital utopia and the real world looming large.” As well as the standard version, a limited edition is available to pre-order from The Midnight’s website. You can also check out the interior art in a trailer here.
– Vault Comics are partnering with Aethon Books for “The Roach,” a superhero graphic novel, based on the book of the same name by Aethon CEO Rhett C. Bruno. A creative team or release date for the graphic version was not announced. Published in 2020, The Roach follows Reese Roberts, a homeless former vigilante, who was forcefully retired after he was shot and paralyzed from the waist down. When a serial killer emerges, and a copycat steals his suit, Roberts decides to take action, despite his disability. The book has won several awards, including the Best Indie Book Award for Action/Adventure, and also been optioned for TV by Sony.
– British comedian and children’s author David Walliams (Little Britain, The Boy in the Dress) is making his graphic novel debut with “Astrochimp,” releasing from HarperCollins in the UK on May 23, 2024. Featuring art by Adam Stower, who’s illustrated several of Walliams’s previous books, “Astrochimp” follows Chump, a chimpanzee owned by NASA who gets sent on a dangerous mission. Walliams is a controversial (to put it nicely) celebrity in his home country, for various reasons you can look up on Wikipedia – writer/letterer Colin Bell simply commented on the news saying, “No David Walliams comics please.”
– Extraction director Sam Hargrave will helm an action film based on Kyle Starks’s graphic novel “Kill Them All.” Published by Oni Press in 2017, “Kill Them All” follows a female assassin who’s betrayed by her agency, forcing her to team up with an alcoholic ex-cop to take them out before they kill her. It culminates in a relentless assault on their headquarters, consisting of 15 flights “of criminals, assassins, drug lords, murderers, [and] yup, even accountants” they must all kill. Starks and Oni will be among the producers on the project, which will be released by Paramount.
– Actress, comedian and ukelele player Kate Micucci is developing an animated series based on “Toy,” the Keenspot comic book by Brett Murphy and Wilson Gandolpho. Released last year, “Toy” follows the eponymous inventor, who is also a toy rabbit, as he defends his hometown Rockledge from the evil kitty-cat CEO Lily Buttercup. Micucci will star in and create music (including the theme song) for the show, which Tobi Wilson (The Amazing World of Gumball) will serve as showrunner on. A platform for the show was not announced.
– Filming has got underway on Paramount+’s Star Trek: Section 31 movie, and the streamer has revealed the project’s supporting cast. The special will co-star Omari Hardwick (Power), Kacey Rohl (Hannibal), Sam Richardson (Ted Lasso), Sven Ruygrok (One Piece), Robert Kazinsky (Pacific Rim), Humberly Gonzalez (Ginny & Georgia), and James Hiroyuki Liao (Barry). (Incidentally, Richardson previously voiced Vendome on Star Trek: Lower Decks.) Section 31, which will see Michelle Yeoh return to the role of (former) Terran Emperor Philippa Georgiou for the first time since Star Trek: Discovery‘s third season in 2020, does not currently have a release date.
– Finally, the Audio Publishers Association announced the nominees for the 2024 Audie Awards, recognizing the best audiobooks, dramas et al. of the year. Hellboy: A Plague of Wasps, written by Christopher Golden and published by Graphic Audio, was nominated for Best Original Work, while HarperAudio’s adaptation of Jerry Craft’s “School Trip” was nominated for Best Middle Grade, and Scholastic Audio’s take on Alice Oseman’s This Winter: A Heartstopper Novella, starring Jenny Walser, was nominated in the Best Young Adult category. Patrick Stewart received two nominations for his memoir, Making It So, while Star Wars: The High Republic – The Battle of Jedha was shortlisted for Best Audio Drama. The winners will be announced in Los Angeles on Monday, March 4.
